


Our Sarcastic Bastard

by meridian_rose (meridianrose)



Category: Da Vinci's Demons
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Friendship, Gen, Leo is not a good man to be in a relationship with, M/M, Mentions other characters, mentions brief and past Leonardo/Lucrezia, relationship turned sour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 19:06:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13981416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meridianrose/pseuds/meridian_rose
Summary: Modern AU, established Leario. Zo,craft beer aficionado meets up with Riario, wine connoisseur; maybe Leo is the only thing they have in common. But when Riario confides that he and Leonardo are on the verge of breaking up, Zo finds himself wanting to keep Riario close.For the prompt "Zo & Riario, Drink Me (character(s) drinking together or alone)"





	Our Sarcastic Bastard

"Hey." Zo sat down opposite Riario. There was a time he'd have sat at any other table but things were different now. "What you drinking?"

"Wine."

He'd been expecting a long explanation detailing the grape, place of origin, year, probably concluding with some comment on the quality compared to other vintages and the implied snub that Zo wouldn't know a 2014 Pinot Grigio from a 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon if his life depended on it.

As such the monosyllabic response made Zo frown. He took a sip of his beer – a nice craft ale whose pedigree he could recite as easily as Riario could do for wine when he wanted to, not that Riario knew anything about the difference between a pale ale and a bitter.

"Everything okay?"

Riario lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

"Leo's a lot, sometimes," Zo offered, taking a guess at the reason for Riario's mood.

"Yes. Perhaps a little too much." Riario took a sip of his wine.

Shit. Zo was torn. He hadn't liked Leo getting together with Riario but there'd be heartbreak if they broke up. And Riario had proven not as terrible as Zo had first thought. In fact Leo was a good influence on Riario and had made him more bearable.

If they broke up, Leo had Zo, Nico, Vanessa, Andrea…Riario had no-one but Lucrezia and it wasn't like they were close.

"What did he do?" Zo asked. Maybe it was something small and stupid and fixable, like forgetting to show up for a dinner date, or disassembling Riario's phone because he needed the spare parts right at that moment.

Riario shook his head. "I don't think he loves me," he said softly, Zo having to lean over the table to hear. "Not the way I love him. Need him. Want him."

"No," Zo said. "No, come on. He cares for you."

"I'm never enough. His work consumes him. He gets distracted. He flirts all the time."

"That's just Leo! He can't help it."

Riario gave a sad laugh. "I saw him with Lucrezia at a coffee shop the other day. I was supposed to meet him there. He was early, for once in his life, and I'm sure the meeting was accidental. The kiss they shared however, full on the lips was not."

Leo! Zo shook his head, furious on Riario's behalf and at the thought of Leo getting involved with Lucrezia again. That was all they needed. "Did you talk to him about it?"

"He didn't think it was important. My cousin. The woman he's slept with before. He swore to me that we'd be monogamous and then he's kissing the only member of my family who still talks to me." Riario sighed. "He apologised but not because he thinks he did anything wrong. He cooked me dinner the next night to try and make it up to me."

"But it's not enough?"

Riario took another drink. "He only ate half his meal, had an idea, and ran off to make some sketches."

"He doesn't understand," Zo said. "We bring it on ourselves, let him boss us around and push us away and then still support him one hundred per cent. He's never had to learn how to give rather than just take. We're good friends, too good. And Lucrezia never taught him how to behave in a relationship because, no offence, she's shit at it too."

"No offence taken," Riario said. "I don't think I'm good at it either. I've not had much practice. I just know I expected it to feel better than this. I don't want to leave him but I'm already lonely."

Zo put out one hand, rested it on Riario's forearm.

"You see," Riario said, glancing at Zo's arm. "I'm here talking to his friend, pouring my heart out. I'm ruined. Exposed. Vulnerable. And for what?"

"You're my friend too," Zo said, surprised to find it was true. "If you break up with him, I'm still here for you. We all are. Maybe it'll give Leo a wake-up call and he'll mend his ways and get back with you. Maybe not. But you owe it to yourself to try and be happy. If he's not making you happy, then you have to end it. Be friends, not lovers. It's second best, I know from personal experience. But it's better than nothing and it's less lonely than what you seem to have now."

Riario tipped his head, blinked a few times. "You actually seem to be making sense. And I've only had one glass so far. What is the world coming to?"

Zo laughed, sat back in his chair. "You're a sarcastic bastard, but you're our sarcastic bastard," he said. "Finish that and we'll go somewhere else. Get some food, grab some whiskies. What do you say?"

Riario downed his wine in a most uncharacteristic fashion. "I say let's go."

Zo smiled and swallowed the rest of his beer almost as quickly. It looked like he had a new friend.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr post](http://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/171902591946/our-sarcastic-bastard-meridianrose)


End file.
